Story of the Feminist Campaigns for a Law on Domestic Violence in India

This paper visits the issue of domestic violence in India and explains why the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2006 was enacted, what ends were intended to be served and what gaps in the existing legal framework it was intended to plug. It gives a brief background to the feminist campaigns that led to revisions in criminal law, thus forcing the State to intervene in cases of violence in the home and the problems in the criminal law regime that led to the conceptualisation of a civil law to deal with domestic violence. It also discusses the post-enactment developments and the monitoring of the law.

Bringing Rights Home: Review of the Campaign for a Law on Domestic Violence